In August 2003 Chris Bent, a.k.a. Chris B,
at that time based in Canada, was one of the voices to be heard on
the launch day for the new Radio Seagull. In October of that year Seagull, in conjunction
with Laser Radio, broadcast a series of programmes from Latvia on 9290Khz,
and it is one those broadcasts, as received in the UK complete with
swirling sprogs, to which you are now listening.

Can't hear the embedded file? Click here for
Seagull
on 9290 Khz
This 238 minute atmospheric
recording was kindly made at Imagination Towers, Staffordshire, by the
legendary and sadly missed Rob Leighton.

Chris can be heard every Friday
and Saturday
on Radio Seagullat midday and again at midnight (on DAB+ 1602Khz 747Khz & online)

Radio London was my first love in 1967 - a hot summer when my parents
worried that I was not running around outside with all the other kiddies.
But, hey, I was 12 and had just discovered pirate radio, and it was THE
summer of Love.

John Peel, initially with Radio London, then amazingly with BBC
Radio 1 from 1967 until his untimely death in October 2004 was undoubtedly
a major influence on my young, impressionable and rebellious mind.

My brain is stuck
at age 16 - not in a boring 'living in the past' kind of way, but in a
'Wow, isn't this new one from Kate Tempest stunning'.
It's something John Peel was undoubtedly also afflicted with, but it
certainly broadens your musical outlook - and still lets you enjoy the
thrill of hearing NEW music for the first time. Teenage kicks indeed...

Along with
Radio 1, and briefly RNI,, Caroline was the
intermittent soundtrack to much of my life but Radio
Geronimo, intriguingly via Monte Carlo from Harley Street, was the
catalyst that sparked the inspiration…droning voices, fantastic music –
progressive rock, jazz & classical all in the same programme, facts about
the music, news of concerts, the use of earthy language of the street, the
counter culture vibe. Of course such a radio station was doomed to
failure, as wonderful things so often are, and Geronimo had but a short
butterfly life of less than a year. But it was long enough to show how it could be
done. The adverts don’t have to interfere with the music, the presenter
can be knowledgeable, you can have the listener being treated as an equal
to the presenter. In 1973/74 Ronan O'Rahilly gave us another opportunity
of the Geronimo experience in the guise of Radio Seagull from the Mi
Amigo. Ronan purposely drafted in ex
Geronimo presenters Hugh Nolan and Barry Everitt - now both sadly departed
for that great gig in the sky.

I noticed a Mission Statement on an
office wall - Lots of grandiose verbiage about putting the customer first,
caring for the staff and providing quality products. I’m sure
many businesses have what amounts to a statement of intent. The
cynical amongst us may consider a Mission Statement to be a prettily typed
and elegantly framed pack of lies, so it is with some trepidation that I
have decided the best way to describe my interest in broadcasting is to
pompously and pretentiously treat it like a corporate entity, viz:

The Chris B mission
is…

to play lesser known tracks that
were overlooked when first issued, and liberally sprinkle in songs
from long established artists – but not necessarily songs with
which you may be familiar.

to play songs by new artists that
are otherwise ignored;

to take a chance, to act upon a
hunch, to play songs by unfashionable artists;

to occasionally play something we
all know;

to not be bothered about being
personally popular – the music is the message, the music is the
priority. I’m just pleased that my unquestioning faith in the
music has been rewarded by confirmation that others share a liking
for the peripheral areas of the music scene, both now and going
back 40+ years*;

to sound happy, to be kind, to
invite comment and ideas from listeners;

to offer the occasional informed
comment about the music founded on knowledge gleaned over many
years (wasted) reading about the trivia of popular culture – also
based on many hours of ‘professional radio listening’, would that
such a vocation existed! And of course, the blaggers guides,
‘Record Collector’ and ‘Tapestry Of Delights’;

to make the music the centre of
attraction

Be seeing you...

Chris B/Chris Bent

revised 10th October 2017
radioseagull.co.uk
radioseagull.info

PS That great song you just caught
the end of but couldn’t quite make out who it was by – names such as
‘Sufjan Stevens’
or 'Phenomenal Handclap Band’ and did he really say ‘Five Horse Johnson’
or 'Grandadbob' all of which can easily slip by your
ears at first mention so a playlist is a great idea. As far as I
know Bob Harris (BBC) was the first presenter to archive his
playlists. I’m never ashamed to use someone else’s idea so I’ve
embraced thisPLAYLISTS
idea.

*Hours spent in Campkins Record Shop,
Peterborough, sifting through the ex-chart and failed singles. Just
knowing that 'Fredereek Hernando' by One In A Million was worth buying.
One record collector was amazed that any copies of this ultra rare MGM
single, featuring a young Jimmy McCulloch, had been distributed outside of
Scotland. Just knowing that the Earth and Fire LP on Nepentha records was
a great album... and on Dandelion records 'A Candle For Judith' by The Way
We Live a.k.a. Tractor. Early electronica like 'An Electric Storm' by The
White Noise... and buying the Columbia 45 'It Would Be So Nice/Julia
Dream' which would ultimately be disowned by the band that recorded it,
Pink Floyd...

Finally, you may even know
me from Newark Hill Infants & Junior School circa 1960-66 and/or Deacons
Grammar School for boys circa 1966-71, both of Peterborough. Plus, I have
had an alternate life at British Telecom as a Technician/Engineer
ultimately specialising in airfield planning whilst having had a great
time mending payphones.

radioseagull.co.uk &
radioseagull.info are wholly owned by chris bent, and do not represent the
official radioseagull.com